Essay series #1: Comparing Chinese Blogs and Big Character Posters. Part 1.

I thought it would be interesting to post some of the essays I’ve written about China’s media, literature and culture in a set of series (so online essay sites don’t pick them up all at once and sell them to high schoolers for $30).

This first essay is one comparing Chinese Blogs and Big Character Posters (dazibao) that I wrote for my Journalism seminar on China’s mass media. I’ll post it in two parts.

Part 1:
On the surface, big character posters and blogs appear to serve many of the same purposes within Chinese society; owing to the oppressive restrictions on the press and civil and human rights imposed by the various incarnations of the Chinese government, both big character posters, and later, blogs, emerged as the only means by which individual citizens can ‘publish’ their opinions or reportage free from traditional censorship. Although these two mediums have this similar potential, in actual practice they have more often been utilized for dissimilar purposes, and, moreover, the subtle differences between the two forms have led to distinctly different uses.

The Chinese press has been burdened by varying degrees of government censorship throughout its development (1). Under this system, how can citizens publish investigations, criticisms, frustrations, or thought contrary to the government line? They can’t-—at least, not through standard mediums (papers, magazines, radio, television). One would expect an intolerable sense of oppression and resentment to build up, but instead, citizens have made use of big character posters—and later, in the twenty-first century, blogs—to ease this pressure. These two forms seemingly offer citizens a cheap (and sometimes free) way to anonymously (if they’re careful) propagate whatever it is they write. Posters and blogs can foster debate, dialogue, and promote a purpose, but they can also be manipulated by the government—as we see with posters during the Cultural Revolution, and in blogs, the censorship software and the manipulated search-engine rating system. Despite these similarities, Chinese society has employed these forms of free-press differently.

Although big character posters and blogs can both be used to address problems with policy or society on a national level, generally speaking, dazibao have been used with a much smaller intended audience, and, quite often, the messages written upon them target individuals for praise or condemnation. Why? Unless reproduced in the press, the dazibao’s message can only be conveyed to those who have the ability to physically stand in front of it and read it (though, to a limited extent, it can be copied down and spread among acquaintances). Its audience, therefore, is quite limited. As a result of its limit to local use, a dazibao’s nature tends to turn quite personal—whichever issue it’s addressing usually involves people who readers know.

Bloggers most often write with the assumption that they, potentially, have a global audience—anyone can view their blog. Moreover, because a blog is on the Internet, the blogger is exposed to more national and international information, issues, and opinions. As a result, blogs are more often geared towards an audience the blogger does not know personally. Conversely, a blogger may not reach the audience he intends. It can be difficult to attract readers to your blog—you’re competing with many blogs that are often better written and more thoughtful than your own. Therefore, there’s also an incentive for bloggers to push themselves to write thoughtfully and well…

for the second half of the essay, see Part 2

(1) John K. Fairbank in Voices of China: The Interplay of Politics and Journalism. ed Chin Chuan Lee. The Guilford Press: New York, 1990. p. ix